KoA: Reckoning - Demo 17th, Mass Effect 3 Cross-Promo

January 11th, 2012, 21:14

EA and 38 Studios sent us a press release announcing the demo will come to all platforms on January 17th. They've also teamed up with BioWare for cross-promotional in-game bonus unlocks for those that want to get a bit of scifi in their fantasy epic and vice versa. There's also a demo FAQ and Crossover Promo FAQ on the Reckoning forums.
From the FAQ:

In the demo, you will get the chance to experience Reckoning’s unique Destiny system and riveting combat. Beginning in the Well of Souls, where your character is reborn, you will have access to the full range of races, genders, and customizations that appear in the main game.

From the Well of Souls, you will venture into the Allestar Glade and meet Agarth the Fateweaver, a key character who will introduce you to the exciting, visceral combat of Reckoning. From this point, you will have 45 minutes to explore Allestar Glade, Gorhart Village, and Odarath, three areas within the rich, massive world of Amalur. You’ll also have the opportunity to embark on a variety of quests.

…and the lengthy press release:
[quote] 38 STUDIOS SUMMONS A DEMO FOR KINGDOMS OF AMALUR: RECKONING AND UNVEILS EXCLUSIVE MASS EFFECT 3 BONUSES FROM BIOWARECross-Promotion Rewards Mass Effect 3 Fans with Exclusive Items Designed by Todd McFarlane and Reckoning Fans with Items Inspired by Mass Effect
<div style="padding-top: 20px;">REDWOOD SHORES, CA. – JANUARY 11, 2012 – The massive world of Amalur will finally break open when Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) and 38 Studios, LLC release a demo for Kingdoms of Amalur: ReckoningTM on January 17, 2012. Available for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC, the demo will give players a taste of the rich, diverse, action-packed world of Amalur, and will also unlock special items in the final game.

In addition to the demo, 38 Studios has teamed up with BioWare to create a cross promotion to reward fans of both Reckoning and Mass Effect 3*. By playing the upcoming demos for both Reckoning and Mass Effect 3, gamers will receive special in-game items, including Mass Effect inspired, Omni-blade daggers in Reckoning and special Reckoning-themed armor and assault rifle in Mass Effect 3 designed by award-winning artist Todd McFarlane.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to deliver this massive one-two punch with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3. We wanted to provide fans of the Mass Effect franchise with a unique set of rewards for diving into the expansive universe of Reckoning,” said Curt Schilling, Chairman and Founder of 38 Studios.

“We are excited to be collaborating with 38 Studios to bring pieces inspired by the Mass Effect universe into the world of Reckoning and to have items designed by Todd McFarlane in Mass Effect 3,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager of EA’s BioWare Label and Co-Founder of BioWare. “This is an awesome way to reward our fans with unique content that not only looks cool, but also delivers some great in-game benefits.”

By playing the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo,gamers will receive two unlocks for Mass Effect 3 when the highly anticipated game releases on March 6, 2012, both designed by the renowned creator of Spawn, Todd McFarlane:

Reckoner Knight Armor: This armor will maximize damage done in close-quarters combat while a beefed–up power cell feeds energy into weapon systems to increase projectile velocity.

The Chakram Launcher: This weapon uses a fabricator to manufacture lightweight, explosive ammunition discs. This weapon is earned after completing the Reckoning demo and watching the trailer at the end.

By playing the upcoming Mass Effect 3 demo, fans will unlock the following items for Reckoning when the game launches on February 7, inspired by Mass Effect: <ul> N7 Armor: Players can unlock special armor inspired by Commander Shepard’s iconic N7 battle armor including Helm, Cuirass, Gauntlets, Chausses and Greaves.Onmiblade Daggers:A holographic blade stemming from Commander Shepard’s Omni-Tool, the Omni-blade allows players to st…More information.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Really who can be surprised they have been doing this since Dragon Age came out. Its the silly side of marketing and promoting. God how I hate people who works in pr and marketing.

But this time you don't have to buy the other game, only try the respective demo…

It is not like you have to participate. I'm not going to play Mass Effect 3 so I'll never see any of this. Even if you do play the demos you probably need to do something (like input a code) to get the items so just don't do it.

I don't understand the fascination with in-game bonus items developers seem to have these days. Do people really care about using some special pair of daggers or getting some armor? Why not just play the game the way the devs intended without bonuses? It just seems like one of those things that developers put too much effort into that people really don't care about. But maybe I'm wrong and fans of these games are just drooling over the chance to get some free in-game items?

All I care is KoA demo; too bad that they're still pursuing the "Sir Isaac of Clarke's Armor" politics… But I'm not so surprised: it's EA after all.
Things you find inside a modern Collector's Edition:

The worst thing is, imho, that - I guess that - younger "gamer generations" would prefer it that way.

I fear that they might be argueing "Handbooks ? Maps ? Who needs this crap, aftr all ? Games should be self-explanatory !"

Besides of all this - could it be that KOAR aims at the same kind of players Dragon Age 2 was aimed at ? Those players apart from the "hardcore RPG audience" ?

— “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Besides of all this - could it be that KOAR aims at the same kind of players Dragon Age 2 was aimed at ? Those players apart from the "hardcore RPG audience" ?

KoA special and collector edition come with a set of 7 dices (d20 and friends), a pack of 40 destinies cards (something to do with the game), a parchment map and a soundtrack. The only "dlc" included is the pre-order one that everybody get by default: the fate touched weapons.

Also, KoA have nothing in common with Dragon Age 2 in term of gameplay. It's closer to the Elder Scrolls meet Divine Divinity 2 and that doesn't cover all of it.

I had thought of the rather action-oriented approach. Something they really tried with Dragon Age 2 (and failed more or less, according to what I read here), and KOAR is more action-oriented, too … Plus, ME3 could be more action-oriented, too, at least, my impressins from what I've read here is that they tried it with ME2 as well …

— “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
I had thought of the rather action-oriented approach. Something they really tried with Dragon Age 2 (and failed more or less, according to what I read here), and KOAR is more action-oriented, too … Plus, ME3 could be more action-oriented, too, at least, my impressins from what I've read here is that they tried it with ME2 as well …

It might have flashy combat (which I think look like Divine Divinity 2 more than anything), but it just fit the rest of the flashy gameworld.

It have no level scaling!
It have hand placed loot!
It have item decay!
It have crafting!
It have housing!
It a faction based crime system!
It have joinable factions!
It have a persuasion skill!
It have 4 playable races!
etc,